Lawndale routs rival Hawthorne in boys basketball

Lawndale and Hawthorne met for their annual rivalry game Thursday night. By the end of the third quarter, it was clear Lawndale still had the upper hand.

In front of a packed crowd at Hawthorne, the Cardinals won 83-45 in a dominating effort driven by defense. The Cardinals led by 20 at halftime and 37 at the end of three.

After a 44-point loss to Serra earlier this month, it was a positive feeling for Lawndale to be on the winning end of a blowout.

“We’re using that Serra game as a measuring stick,” Lawndale coach Chris Brownlee said. “We know we’re not elite yet, so we have to play as hard as we possibly can.”

Lawndale led 13-9 after one quarter before turning up the intensity. Its full-court press created more turnovers that led to easy layups and opportunities.

Chimezie Metu excited the crowd with a thunderous dunk off a missed shot that gave the Cardinals a 27-13 lead. It was the climax of a 21-2 second-quarter run that turned a close game into a rout as Hawthorne only scored eight points in the period.

“Coach told us to pick up our intensity after the first quarter and we did that,” Metu said.

Lawndale kept the pressure on as it opened the second half with a 17-2 run behind Metu and Brodricks Jones. Hawthorne’s offense slowly picked up afterward but it was too late as the Cougars had trouble maintaining a consistent rhythm against Lawndale’s full-court press.

“When you have a big lead at halftime, it’s not safe so you have to play with the same intensity that got you the lead,” Brownlee said.

Metu led the Cardinals with 15 points while Quincy Pinkard added 14. For Hawthorne, Marlon Towns led the way with 11 points

Prior to the game, Hawthorne’s girls defeated Lawndale 46-39 in a thrilling overtime finish. Lawndale came back from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to briefly take the lead, but Deonshanae Sadler tied the score on a free throw with 15 seconds left.

Sadler then missed a free throw that could’ve given Hawthorne the lead, but she atoned for it by opening overtime with two quick baskets. The Cougars raced out to a 9-0 run to open the extra period and did not look back.

“Once we stopped making turnovers and started creating turnovers, we capitalized on it,” Cougars coach Joe House said.

Noe Tukutau also had 12 points for the Cougars while Kristina Brown added nine.